


Best Suited

by Rose_of_Pollux



Category: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (TV)
Genre: Episode Related, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 06:55:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10692024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: In which, after the events of “The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair,” Napoleon ponders over why Illya willingly plays the “bad cop”





	Best Suited

“You haven’t played the villain in a long time,” Illya had said.

Illya hadn’t persisted after saying that, and as Napoleon stood there in the corridor for a moment, he still had to ponder over it. Illya thrived off of his reputation as the cold and calculating one—and, naturally, that had many instances of practical use in the event of a necessary interrogation. It seemed only natural that he would be the one to play the “bad cop,” as it were, while Napoleon played the “good cop.” The both of them seemed to have settled into those roles.

So why would Illya bring it up at all?

Napoleon pushed the comment to the back of his mind as the day seemed to get more and more bizarre. Finally, after the THRUSH mole had been apprehended, and after Miss Lorrison had left with her fiancé, the thought returned to Napoleon as he and Illya returned to their office.

“You must admit that today was… interesting, was it not?” Illya mused, as Baba Yaga, their “office cat,” greeted the two of them warmly.

“I can do without another ‘interesting’ day like today,” Napoleon said, as he sat back in his chair.

Illya gave a fervent nod of agreement.

“Well said,” the Russian said, placing a new sheet of paper on his typewriter. “Imagine, an extra report, and we were not even on a mission.”

“Hmm,” Napoleon grunted, getting his typewriter ready, as well.

“…Napoleon?”

“Hmm?”

“Something is still on your mind. Is this about Mr. Waverly’s brother-in-law breaching our security multiple times, or the THRUSH infiltrator? Or both?”

“Everything, really,” Napoleon said. “We should have been on top of everything—that was the whole point of this lesson today—and why Mr. Waverly went along with it, too. And that’s not even getting into our actual narrow escape with that THRUSH agent. As CEA, I should have been able to prevent so much of what happened today. And, though nowhere near as important, I’ve also been thinking about some other things, too.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I was thinking about what you said—about me not having played the villain in a while.”

“…I did not intend to mean that as a way of ridicule, Napoleon. The statement was a suggestion—initially.”

“You didn’t press it.”

“Because, moments after I had suggested it, I realized that, perhaps, it would be better for me to be the ‘bad cop’ this time, as well.”

“Care to fill me in?” Napoleon asked.

“Because I know you well, Napoleon,” Illya said, glancing at him with a rare, warm smile. “You know we practice our interrogation routines—and have watched each other practice. And I also know you as a person—know that when you feel an emotion very strongly, you act upon it. And you were feeling a great deal of emotions earlier today; we all were, but perhaps you, more than most.”

“And what emotions did you think I was feeling?”

“Anger. Frustration. Worry. Concern. As you said yourself, as CEA, you felt the most responsible for what transpired. …Am I correct, or do I exaggerate?”

“Spot on.”

“You see, Napoleon, I realized within moments that if you did go in as the ‘bad cop,’ you probably would have been harsher than you would have intended to be. Now, had I know for certain that Miss Lorrison had been a THRUSH agent, I wouldn’t have stopped you from being the ‘bad cop.’ However, I did not recognize her from any THRUSH dossiers we had seen, and, having some background in psychological profiling, could read in her behavior that she was more frightened and confused than anything else—in line with her story that she had gotten in here accidentally. And she had.”

“So, basically, you didn’t want me going ballistic on someone who might have been an innocent?”

“Of course not, Napoleon; I know you better than that. You would not have done anything unprofessional. But, as she was an innocent, you probably would have frightened her with your palpable emotion. I have a more calculating, colder approach; that was what we needed most at that moment.”

Napoleon considered this.

“That’s… good thinking, Tovarisch.”

“Of course, you, too, would have come to the same conclusion; I just happened to get the idea first this time,” Illya said, with another smile. 

Napoleon smiled back.

“Thanks for that vote of confidence.”

“Of course. And now… let’s complete these reports. With any luck, we shall be able to finish in a few hours and find the time go out for dinner.”

“Yeah, after what we went through today, I could go for some pampering at a high-end eatery,” Napoleon agreed. “…I’m guessing you can, too.”

He smiled again at the momentarily dreamy look on Illya’s face at the thought of gourmet food. That was a yes, he knew—and it would be the perfect end they needed to this otherwise bizarre day.


End file.
